Collegians Hold Own Against Professionals at Payton Jordan

In a meet that saw plenty of season’s and career bests, Stanford junior Aisling Cuffe popped the evening’s biggest collegiate performance with a 15:11.13 5,000m that was good enough for a sixth place finish at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational on May 4. Third best on the all-time collegiate list behind only Jenny Simpson (15:01.70) and Kim Smith (15:09.72), Cuffe’s time represents a 42-second improvement on her previous top mark and vaults the Cardinal junior ahead of Texas’ Marielle Hall (15:19.26) on the outdoor championships qualifier list. Cuffe also established a new Stanford school record, eclipsing three-time NCAA champion Lauren Fleshman’s 2003 standard of 15:20.44. While she crossed the line well behind Cuffe, Michgan’s precocious freshman Erin Finn turned in a sparkling 15:26.08, giving her the third fastest time in the NCAA. The race was won by Ethiopian-born and now Dutch standout Sifan Hassan, who nipped Maraf Bahta 14:59.23 to 14:59.49

Though they finished nearly half a lap behind men’s 5,000m winner Ben True, Oklahoma State’s Kirubel Erassa and Wisconsin’s Mohammed Ahmed performed well enough to assume the second and third fastest times on the outdoor 5,000m list. Up front it was True scoring a big victory and personal best with a narrow 13:02.74 to 13:02.80 win over former Minnesota All-American Hassan Mead. Erassa crossed the line 13th in 13:27.55 with Ahmed half a step behind in 13:28.02, good for 14th. Only Texas Tech’s Kennedy Kithuka has run faster among collegians this outdoor season, with a 13:26.98 at Mt. SAC a couple weeks ago.

Most of the various women’s and men’s 800m sections saw the expected tight finishes, and the peak performance was that of Middle Tennessee State Eliud Rutto, who cruised to a comfortable 1:45.37 win in section two over Oregon Track Club teammates Harun Abda (1:46.62) and Aaron Evans (1:47.15). In the marquee section one race it was Brooks Beasts athlete Cas Loxsom edging Iowa State’s Edward Kemboi 1:48.38 to 1:48.47, both well slower than Rutto’s winning mark. Stanford sophomore Amy Weissenbach claimed fifth in section one of the women’s 800m, her 2:02.60 close to the 2:02.29 personal best she ran in placing sixth at outdoor nationals last June. Canadian Karine Belleau-Beliveau finished on top in 2:01.46, narrowly winning over Treniere Moser (2:01.79), representing the Nike Oregon Project.

Florida teammates Cory McGee and Agata Strausa crossed the 1500m finish line in practically a dead heat, as the pair took eighth and ninth in 4:12.50 and 4:12.54, respectively. Now occupying the second and third positions on the outdoor championships 1500m qualifier list, the Gator duo should be in the mix at nationals in Eugene next month. Up front it was Oiselle’s Kate Grace taking a convincing 4:07.35 to 4:08.73 victory over Kate Van Buskirk of Brooks with 2013 Florida State grad Violah Lagat, sister of Bernard, third in 4:09.24. The men’s 1500m almost saw a collegiate triumph, as Penn State sophomore Brannon Kidder impressed by running 3:38.82 for third, a personal best by more than three seconds. While Kidder moved to the top of the qualifier list, Wisconsin junior Austin Mudd also performed well in crossing the line sixth, his 3:40.16 good enough to assume the fourth fastest time in the NCAA.

A pair of collegians made statements in the steeplechase. Shalaya Kipp, the 2013 NCAA champion from Colorado University who subsequently advanced to the World Outdoor Championships last summer, ran to a solid 9:39.12 to 9:42.08 event victory over Aisha Praught of Nike OTC while Sara Hall of Asics was a close third in 9:42.10. Billy Nelson, Kipp’s steeplechase coach at Colorado, took the victory in the men’s top section with an 8:28.49, but not before being pressed by UTEP’s Anthony Rotich (8:30.54) in the runner-up spot. Well back was Arkansas Razorback Stanley Kebenei finishing in 8:40.12, good for 12th. Rotich now sits comfortably in the top position on the regional qualification list, 7 seconds clear of BYU’s Curtis Carr.

In the women’s 10,000m, Emma Bates of Boise State narrowly held off Duke senior Juliet Bottorff. Bates recorded a season leading 32:20.83, the 12th fastest mark on the all-time collegiate list, as the pair finished 13th and 14th in a deep, fast race won in 30:42.26 by Sally Kipyego. Both collegiate athletes established new personal bests and school records, and only Elinor Kirk of UAB has run faster (32:17.05) than Bates this season. Bates claimed third at nationals in this event last June while Bottorff was the champion back in 2011, and this year’s national title appears wide open with seven sub-33:00 marks already recorded.

Starting relatively slowly, with the first 5,000m completed right at 14:00, the men’s 10,000m sped up over the second half as Nike athlete Juan Luis Barrios triumphed with a 27:34.40 to 27:36.00 victory over teammate Cam Levins. Oklahoma State’s Shadrack Kipchirchir wasn’t far back in fifth, his 27:36.79 moving the Cowboy senior to the top spot on the 10K qualifier list. Texas Tech’s Kennedy Kithuka ran his first 10,000 as a Red Raider and scored a 31-second personal best with a 27:41.73, good for sixth place.

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